Geography

Iran, a Middle Eastern country south of the
Caspian Sea and north of the Persian Gulf, is three times the size of
Arizona. It shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

The Elburz Mountains in the north rise to 18,603
ft (5,670 m) at Mount Damavend. From northwest to southeast, the country
is crossed by a desert 800 mi (1,287 km) long.

Government

Iran has been an Islamic theocracy since the
Pahlavi monarchy was overthrown on Feb. 11, 1979.

History

The region now called Iran was occupied by the
Medes and the Persians in the 1500s
B.C.
, until
the Persian king Cyrus the Great overthrew the Medes and became ruler of
the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, which reached from the Indus to the Nile
at its zenith in 525
B.C.
Persia fell to
Alexander in 331–330
B.C.
and a
succession of other rulers: the Seleucids (312–302
B.C.
), the Greek-speaking Parthians (247
B.C.
–
A.D.
226), the
Sasanians (224–c. 640), and the Arab Muslims (in 641). By the
mid-800s Persia had become an international scientific and cultural
center. In the 12th century it was invaded by the Mongols. The Safavid
dynasty (1501–1722), under whom the dominant religion became Shiite
Islam, followed, and was then replaced by the Qajar dynasty
(1794–1925).

During the Qajar dynasty, the Russians and the
British fought for economic control of the area, and during World War I,
Iran's neutrality did not stop it from becoming a battlefield for Russian
and British troops. A coup in 1921 brought Reza Kahn to power. In 1925, he
became shah and changed his name to Reza Shah Pahlavi. He subsequently did
much to modernize the country and abolished all foreign extraterritorial
rights.